Training for a new career sure is hard...but being a diabetic is even harder

A couple of weekends ago mom and I took a trip up to Oakley, CA to visit a really nice woman named Rita Martinez.  Since mom has retired from teaching public classes I have volunteered to help her learn a new career - training Medical Alert Dogs - and this really nice Rita lady is helping her to learn.  My best dog-friend Obi and his mom Laura joined us too!  Did you guys know it gets hot up there??! 

I spent the morning at Rita's sniffing things.  You see, this is one of the first steps in training a Medical Alert Dog.  Mom tells me that what I'm learning how to identify now is the "Diabetic Low Scent."  You see, Medical Alert Dogs are trained to let their humans know there is something wrong by smelling them, and then alerting them that there is a problem.  You might wonder where mom finds the scent to train me with - right now a very nice, tall young man spits on a piece of cotton when his "blood sugar" is low.  So, mom presents the scent to me in a variety of situations and when I notice it (usually I just sniff it) she calls me to her for a treat.   Mom tells me that we're going to turn this into a fun game soon.  I can't wait! 

We're also working on a few other things - right now I can't honestly say these other things feel much different than working on obedience or tricks.  So far, mom has taught me to "punch" her with my nose.  She tells me that this will eventually become my "alert".  The next training step for us is to teach me to punch mom on any body part I can find when I smell the "Diabetic Low" instead of just when mom asks me to "punch".  Honestly, I really have a hard time believing you humans can't smell this stuff!!  To us dogs it's like flashing lights saying, "HELLO - chemical change in the body here!!"  (And PS - we CAN smell fear!)

Once I'm "alerting", mom is going to teach me to signal whether the scent is high or low.  I'm having a little bit of a hard time with the signal part - I keep pushing mom's hand around, but haven't quite figured out exactly what she wants yet.  I suspect she might want me to push her hand down, because she rewards me more often when I do that.   I think I overheard Rita say one time that after I give her the alert that something is wrong, she will then ask me to identify whether the scent is the high scent or the low scent and I'll push her hand in the appropriate direction.  I think I'll try pushing it down on our next session and see what happens.

There are also other types of Medical Alert Dogs - one dog that I met at a workshop once lets his human know that she is about to have a seizure and leads her to safety.  My sister Bella can smell when a dog is about to have a seizure and will stand over them until the danger has passed.  What a good sis she is!  Too bad she already has a job as Veterinary Hospital Mascot, because she'd be good at that one!

Well, wish me luck in my training - I'll keep you updated on my progress (and have more information on service dogs to share too!)  I overheard mom say the other day that it's a great experience working with the diabetic people - it makes her very grateful every day for her own health!

)~  Wags!!  Astro T.W. Dog

PS - Check out Rita's website for some more information about Service Dogs.

And check out the VERY cute picture of me in my service dog vest:  

Camping with humans

 Hi everyone!

My name is Astro, and since I've recently retired from monitoring puppy socials I have decided to blog about my experiences as a golden retriever.

Life is pretty good for me because my people really really love dogs. Dad is a veterinarian, mom is a dog trainer. That means that every stray in town ends up coming to live with us.  I have 10 brothers and sisters, but not all are dogs.  The cats, bunnies, and birds in the house certainly keep things interesting!

The most interesting thing that has happened to me recently is that I got to take my first ever camping trip. Sure, I had done lots of hiking with mom and dad, but had never actually stayed anywhere overnight under the stars. It was about three weeks ago, mom and dad started to load up the car like they do when they go away without us. At first I was really sad: seeing those suitcases meant bye-bye.  I gave them my best sad eyes and moped around as much as possible. Then, much to my surprise, mom called me to join them in the car.  Yippee!

It was the longest car ride I've ever had, after my first ride home from Lake Tahoe.    Fortunately, I ride really well in the car. I looked out the window for a while then settled down for a nap. Eventually, we pulled into a driveway-it was the longest driveway I had ever seen! All along the driveway people had set up things that look like my soft dog crate. Could there really be that many dogs here!? Mom and dad unpacked the car and set up something they called a “tent”-it was even bigger than my dog house, and mom & dad slept in there...WITH ME!

The first night we unpacked our stuff, mom and dad made dinner, then we sat around the fire all evening. I wanted to sit right next to the fire pit, but mom wouldn't let me. She kept saying something about burning my fur. At the end of the night I got to join mom and dad in the “tent”. It was very cozy! The real fun started the next day, when we loaded into the car, drove a short way to the Big Sur Ranger Station, where we all strapped food and supplies onto our backs and went for a really great walk into the Ventana Wilderness Area   (we like wilderness areas because dogs are allowed off leash). I had never had such a great walk ever before in my entire life! Sure, it was hard work but heck, I'm a working dog. There were many other humans and several dogs along the way. Unfortunately mom and dad wouldn't let me walk with the other people-I had to stay with them. Slowpokes! By the end of the day we had hiked 10 miles, and I carried my own backpack for eight of them. There were cool streams to play in, great smells all along the way, and the views were just incredible! Check out a few of my pictures from the trip.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. And for those of you who would like to go hiking with your humans, here is a list of tips and suggestions:

• Make sure the campground allows dogs. Know whether or not dogs are allowed on or off leash.  It seems as though humans are pretty much always allowed in campgrounds.
• Prepare ahead of time: work up to long hikes gradually so that you don't injure your paw pads or overexert yourself.
• Make sure to take plenty of water: especially in the summertime, dogs can suffer heat exhaustion or heat stroke and this can be fatal.
• Remember to be responsive to your humans. If you don't come when they call, you could end up finding yourself alone and lost. The best way to make sure that your humans know what they are doing, is to take a good dog training class. Humans are not too hard to train!
• Take a good first aid kit along, with plenty of bandages, some antiseptic, and painkillers... Just in case.
• Take plenty of good bones and toys to keep you occupied when your humans are busy around the campsite.
• Always check the weather-be sure to prepare for rain and/or cold weather.
• Finally, be sure to guard the your bones and food from those stinking ground squirrels. Little thieves! I wish I could have gotten my paws on the bugger who stole my rawhide.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you find my blog something to woof about!

Wags, Astro T. W. Dog